India Next Gen

Currently, we are seeing a trend of young people with big visions, taking small steps towards ambitious goals. No longer are they just consumers of jobs and wealth but are now creators of new value and employment. This is what has to be next if we want India's demographic dividend to be it’s greatest opportunity and not it’s biggest threat, if we want India to see the next gen paradigm in growth and development.

India has the largest number of educational institutions in the world (21,000), a gross enrollment ration of 20 million and a median age of 25.3, compared to 34.1 of China, 36.7 of USA. Yet, it is estimated that by 2020 as many as 47 million educated young people will be unemployed.

Education is clearly not the only answer. It needs to be supplemented with systems that connect them to the spirit of innovation. This is the Next Generation that outperforms the previous in sports, gaming, creativity, technology and academics and must be given the inspiration and the means to realise their Dreams.

DREAM:IN Next Gen is a plan to connect on ground with youth across institutions, town and cities of at least 50% of India. To engage with them, understand and record their aspirations which will become, at one level, an open source of qualitative data online, and at another, the basis for the creation of Next Gen enterprise and social action plans with a high level of business and design mentorship.

DREAM:IN Next Gen Journey

DREAM:IN has covered 3,000 miles across an emerging and progressive South and West India: Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and parts of Maharashtra and Goa, partnering with over 100 educational institutions in the fields of design, management, engineering and agriculture.

DREAM:IN has trained over 75 students to become DreamCatchers in two training sessions, who went back, captured Dreams from their colleges and sent them back to DREAM:IN.

The DreamCatchers were trained in the DREAM:IN Methodology and were taught how to independently execute a DREAM:IN Next Gen campaign internally and externally in their respective institutions. They were trained to interview potential entrepreneurs and record Dreams as video clips (of a professional quality in terms of both content and technique).

Every Dream sent in is analysed and categorised by the DREAM:IN team. Several entrepreneurs have also approached DREAM:IN directly and shared their Dreams.

DREAM:IN Next Gen Camps

22 & 23 Feb, 22 & 23 Mar, 26 & 27 Apr

All the Dreams are viewed, analysed and categorised by the DREAM:IN Team, so that only the most sustainable ones, from a societal, environmental and economic standpoint are selected in these categories.

Day 1 of the Dream Camp typically consists of an interaction between Mentors (from various fields including technology, finance, sustainability, design etc.) and Dreamers (students/young entrepreneurs from all over the South and parts of Western India) to discuss ideas, share their dreams and gain valuable feedback.

Day 2 is a day of action. A few shortlisted Dreamers are invited to come back and work with a team to shape their ideas and create scenarios in the form of DreamScapes. They will also get a chance to pitch their ideas to a group of Super Mentors.

Post this, the Mentors continue to work with the young Dreamers to help them create their Business plans (in this case Dream Plans) to get them investment ready. Participants from the previous Dream Camps, that are preparing their Dream Plans, are also invited back to Bangalore to share their progress with a panel of experts so that they can make their Dream Plans even more robust.

DREAM:IN has been continuously reaching out to new higher educational institutions across South and West India to identify potential entrepreneurs, invite them for Dream Camps and help them shape their ideas to take it through from Dream to Realisation.